Scheme Documents Review Project

The suite of ‘scheme documents’ which put into operation MSC’s fisheries and Chain of Custody standards is being revised in order to improve their clarity and effectiveness.  Importantly, this revision does not change MSC's standards or requirements.

Why is this revision needed?

The need to revise core MSC scheme documents is the result of a rapid evolution of the MSC certification program over its more than 10 years of operations. Factors driving change have included:

• The way the certification service is delivered;
• the addition of new program elements;
• clarification and modification of existing provisions
• experience gained by MSC over 10 years; and,
• ongoing changes to FAO, ISO, ISEAL and other guidelines upon which the MSC system is based.

What do we hope to achieve with this project?

This project has several overarching objectives, all leading to improved functionality for all users of the MSC scheme:

• Reduce the number of documents. Consolidate changes to requirements and guidance made in TAB Directives, Policy Advisories and other MSC determinations within the main documents.
• Harmonize the format and structure of the documents to improve readability.
• Eliminate duplication by bringing sections that address the same topic into one location.
• Clearly differentiate between requirements and guidance elements.
• Improve readability through the use of international English, using simple sentence structure and avoiding complex terminology where possible.
• Improve auditability by clearly presenting requirements along with objective measures and thresholds for each element wherever possible.
• Improve productivity by clarifying requirements that are confusing.  Use standardized forms to facilitate information sharing between MSC, ASI and certifiers; and enable them to identify better ways to communicate with clients so they can more easily understand and implement MSC requirements.
• Simplify future changes through a new amendment process.  All future changes will be implemented through additions and deletions to the main documents.  A consolidated set of documents which include all changes in effect will be maintained.
• Eliminate the need for a future major revision.  New document design and layout that facilitates changes.  Eliminate the need for detailed knowledge of a growing list of directives and advisories to know which requirements are current.

What this project will not do:

While this consolidation and revision will dramatically improve the usability of these documents for assessing fisheries and supply-chain organizations against the MSC standards, importantly, it will not

• Change MSC requirements. 
• Increase workloads of applicants, certificate holders or certification bodies.
• Change opportunities for Stakeholders to participate.

What will happen if a need for changes to requirements is identified during this process?

Issues identified in this project where changes may be needed will be documented and brought to the authorized MSC body for resolution or decision according to the appropriate policy development process.  Examples where changes may be needed could include: 

• differently stated requirements for the same element;
• definitions that are inconsistently used in different documents; and,
• different contexts for the same element that may imply different meanings.

Who to contact

If you have any comments or queries please email Amanda Stern-Pirlot, Project Manager for the scheme documents review.